As an environmentally friendly vehicle, a hybrid vehicle having mounted thereon a traction motor that receives supply of electric power from a power storage device and an internal combustion engine, as sources of motive power.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-140673 (PTD 1) discloses an engine stop/start control device applicable to such a hybrid vehicle. This engine stop/start control device is employed in a vehicle in which the engine is stopped when a predetermined stop condition is met and the engine is started when a predetermined start condition is met. The engine stop/start control device includes means for detecting the shift position of the vehicle and means for, when the shift position is at a running position, changing the start condition to the side where the engine is unlikely to start as compared with the case of being at a non-running position.
It is supposed that this engine stop/start control device can minimize the number of times of starting the engine at the running position and reduce discomfort given to a driver (see PTD 1).